Fan favorite Karolina Kowalkiewicz had a tough time in enemy territory Saturday at UFC Fight Night 261.
On the preliminary card at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Kowalkiewicz (16-10 MMA, 9-10 UFC) was finished by a barrage of Julia Polastri (14-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) strikes for a standing TKO at the 2:56 mark of Round 3.
Polastri seemed to have Kowalkiewicz’s number from the beginning of the fight. She nearly finished Kowalkiewicz in Round 1 and Round 2, but then got it done in Round 3 with a head kick and punches. Referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight standing when Kowalkiewicz was not defending properly.
Kowalkiewicz, 39, falls into a three-fight skid. At one point in her UFC career, however, Kowalkiewicz was on a five-fight skid and bounced back with four-straight wins.
Polastri, 27, bounces back from a March unanimous decision loss to Loopy Godinez.
